Sustainability Outlook Headlines

WWF India brings cheaper renewable energy products to Bangalore

If you want to be a green energy user, you can choose products that fit your requirements at a fair that hosts economically viable renewable energy generation products. WWF India has organized this two-day Green Energy Fair in Bangalore which targets households to opt for green energy.

The fair is a part of the `Seize Your Power' campaign under which the WWF is engaging with state governments and Centre to reduce dependency on conventional sources. The Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (KREDL) is partnering with WWF India in Karnataka to promote green energy usage.... Read more..

Biotech, farmer associations key for climate adaptation - panel

In increasingly extreme climate is presenting new challenges to farmers across the world, and biotechnology and greater collaboration will be two key ways of addressing them, a group of farmers from four continents said during an international roundtable.

“GE (genetic engineering) technology has a positive role to play in fighting climate change,” said Gilbert Arap Bor, a Kenyan farmer, business lecturer at the Catholic University of East Africa and one of five farmers taking part in the discussion in the U.S. state of Iowa, as part of events surround the World Food Prize last week... Read more..

Jaipur Municipal Corporation Councillors want Gujarat model replicated in Jaipur

Jaipur Municipal Corporation (JMC) councillors belonging to the BJP strongly believe that Jaipur should go the Ahmedabad way as far as the Bus Rapid Transit Service (BRTS) is concerned.

Over 30 councillors had attended a one-day seminar on local self-governance held in Ahmedabad recently.

Deputy mayor Manish Parikh said, “It was a wonderful experience and over 20 issues related to development of urban areas were discussed. Prominent speakers including IAS officers of Gujarat gave presentations on drainage system, sanitation, transport, health system and water harvesting in... Read more..

25 pico projects to be completed soon

As part of encouraging power production from small streams in the hilly areas of the state, there has been a huge response from investors with 25 pico hydro-electric projects expected to be completed by the end of this month.

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) will be providing subsidy to investors for power production so that it is available in the remote areas where the Kerala State Electricity Board cannot reach the masses.

Already 12 projects have been commissioned at Wayanad and Munnar and the rest will be completed by the end of this month, which is the cut... Read more..

Improved air conditioners can save India 60000 MW

The India-US climate cooperation agreed to during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent summit meeting with President Barack Obama will also include a focus on improving the energy efficiency of air-conditioning in India, which has the potential to avoid as many as 120 large power plants of 500 MW each, and to help avoid brownouts and blackouts. More importantly, it has the potential to significantly reduce the import of fuel for power plants, thereby reducing the vexing issue of the current account deficit that the finance ministry and the new Reserve Bank of India governor are trying to... Read more..

And Justin didn't even mentioned India's acute and growing water shortages

A few short years ago the assumption that coal demand was essentially endless in China and India was seen as irrefutable. Now this 'coal consensus' is breaking as analysts from Citi Bank to Bernstein predict a rapidly approaching peak in Chinese coal demand. But while the end of the Chinese coal bubble has generated headlines the situation in India has flown entirely under the radar. Now the Indian coal bubble may have popped and no one seems to realize they're standing in the rubble.

To understand the depth and extent of the Indian coal bubble you have to first understand the... Read more..

Greenpeace lays foundation of micro-grid project in Bihar village

Greenpeace India on Saturday laid the foundation for its revolutionary rural electrification micro-grid project at the Dharnai Village in Jahanabad district of Bihar. The model for this project will be based on an innovative smart solar based technology.

Earlier on September 4, 2013, Greenpeace had announced the launch of this project Co-implemented with Centre for Environment and Energy Development, the micro grid will involve about 100 kilowatts of solar panels that will supply affordable, sustainable and round the clock electricity to 350 households in Dharnai.

The micro... Read more..

Insurance industry warms to new climate report

Members of the insurance industry have lined up to support the recently released first installment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Fifth Assessment Report.

“The entire process of insurance is predicated on being able to understand and assess current and future exposures, so when a report comes out that has vital information on how and why the world is changing, it's important for the industry to take a look,” said Lara Mowery, Minneapolis-based head of the global property specialty practice at reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. L.L.C.

New York-based... Read more..

12 industry leading organizations including HUL, Marks & Spencer, Infosys, GSECL, Attero, Eram Scientific, ACC and Schneider feature amongst winners of the 2013 Parivartan Sustainability Leadership Awards

Changing customer and consumption outlook emerges as a central tenet of India Inc.’s sustainability lens.

Over 250 sustainability leaders driving Indian businesses converged in New Delhi on October 17th at the Annual Summit of the Sustainable Business Leadership Forum to redefine customer engagement strategies and leveraging sustainability investments to shape ‘Sustainable Brands’. The Summit also witnessed the announcement of the 2013 Parivartan Sustainability Leadership Awards.

The Forum featuring several key figures from the country’s policy and business circles... Read more..

New nano-material could boost solar panel efficiency as high as 80%

Conventional solar cells based on photovoltaic technology have come a long way in recent years, but they’re still missing a big chunk of the electromagnetic spectrum. The silicon semiconductors in a solar cell are geared toward taking infrared light and converting it directly to electricity. Meanwhile, the visible spectrum is lost as heat and longer wavelengths pass through unexploited. A new nano-material being developed by a group of researchers spread across the country could act as a “thermal emitter,” making solar power significantly more efficient by scooping up more of that wasted... Read more..

Centre to notify rules to protect Ghats

The Western Ghats, a hotspot of biological diversity, will get a protective cover as no building projects, mines or industries will be allowed in the more than one-third of the area.

The Central government is expected to soon formally notify the recommendations of the high-level panel headed by Dr K. Kasturirangan. Dr Kasturirangan, the Planning Commission member, has recommended that 37 per cent of the Western Ghats be declared as an environmentally-sensitive area, where no thermal power plants, mining, building projects or polluting industries should be allowed.

All... Read more..

India Green IT and sustainability spending to reach USD 29.2 billion this year: Gartner

India's spending on green IT and sustainability initiatives will reach USD 29.2 billion in 2013 a 17.6 percent increase from USD 24.8 billion that was spent in 2012, according to Gartner, Inc.

In the Gartner report “Hype Cycle for Green IT and Sustainability in India, 2013,” analysts said while businesses and investors in India are slowly waking up to green and sustainability issues, policymakers in the government are clearly pushing for changes that will likely set the tone for green and sustainable, low-carbon economic growth in the country in the coming years.

“Many Indian... Read more..